Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hadn't looked at US News in years. Seems like Bama is ranked around the same as JMU, which makes sense. I would probably have seen similar rankings 30 years ago. I don't think the low ranking is as indicative of anything you might be thinking, OP. The difference in schools in these rankings are so marginal and meaningless and the magazine is infamous for rigging the rankings to make it look like schools are moving up and down in order to sell more editions.

Bama does have a certain culture attractive to certain students. Does it bother me? No.

Me neither, to each his own, but I would hope this would shut up the ridiculous troll who keeps insisting that high stats kids are ditching the Ivy + and applying to 'Bama

I am an actual parent of a Bama NMF and I can tell you that my child and most, if not all of their friends were accepted into T10s-T25s at the lowest (for those who are ranking obsessed). Bama offers an excellent education and tons of opportunity - very small class sizes, research for undergrads, job placement. They routinely beat T25s in robotics competitions, model UN, etc... out of all the schools we visited ... Bama was the ONLY school that seemed to be hyper focused on the student experience/opportunities and job placement (vs. fancy buildings, chairs in this and that, etc. -- ie. they are not chasing prestige, or rankings).

Best example I can share is that one program head told us that they had been given a several hundred thousand dollar grant from the university to do with as they pleased...and do you know what they did with the money? Divided by the number of students in the program and gave everyone a scholarship towards the cost of the program.

Granted, it's not for everyone. For the student who plans to coast on the "name brand" of their college and not take advantage of or seek out opportunities, Alabama might not be the right fit. But for bright go-getters it's a no brainer. Bonus - the campus is beautiful and the people are friendly.

Fun school. Easy admit.

Anonymous wrote:Seriously why are people looking or choosing OOS Alabama? It’s one of the lowest ranked schools and keeps declining. What am I missing?

Great way for average kids to get merit scholarship in a rah rah school where critical thinking and intellectual debates are not necessarily part of the daily environment.

Not everyone cares about actual education or actual respect. So they go to bama.

No one in MCPS is dying to go to Bama. Only 4 kids from the 2025 class (Bethesda Magazine) are going.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Alabama isn't a good school, but that doesn't really matter if you get a hot wife and want to live in the South. They are a very fun, beautiful school and your frat brothers will get you a good job.

What specifically makes Alabama "not a good school"? I'm sincerely curious.

Their academics.

Care to elaborate, with data this time?

Different poster - you can look it up, come on you're just arguing for the sake of arguing

I believe it's actually you who's doing that.

PP made a claim. Back it up with data.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Alabama isn't a good school, but that doesn't really matter if you get a hot wife and want to live in the South. They are a very fun, beautiful school and your frat brothers will get you a good job.

What specifically makes Alabama "not a good school"? I'm sincerely curious.

Their academics.

Care to elaborate, with data this time?

Really? I get it that kids like a free ride. But please. Academics and Alabama dont necessarily go together in the same sentence.

So...you really don't have a cogent response, only your own biases. Got it.

Anonymous wrote:I have seen it with my own eyes with my DC who is eligible for one of their top merit scholarships. I was blown away (not trying to be dramatic) by the campus, the culture, the professors we met with (some randomly) and the opportunities for high stats kids. Way more impressed than I was as some of the “hot” schools often mentioned here, where the kids frankly seemed miserable and in a constant grind and opportunities were clearly limited for undergraduates. The sense of pride was undeniable. And there was in fact diversity on campus. Is it for everyone? Certainly not. But is it a bad place to spend four years? Doubtful.

People obsessed with "ranking" colleges have not been on most campuses they claim are not good. They also run the risk of bragging about their kids' colleges to people who know better and don't understand that they look foolish. Yes, people think wow you managed to get into a highly rejective college. They don't think, wow your kid is way smarter than everyone else. Usually, they actually know your kid and their high school classmates who went to other colleges. There are bright kids and great educations to be earned everywhere. The country is far more regional than many people realize.

Anonymous wrote:It's a crap school, but it's notorious for Sorority Rush. In case you didn't know, that's a HUGE deal for a certain type of southern family whose goal in life is to get their daughters and sons married to other kids of well-to-do families of the south who are in sororities and fraternities in those types of institutions. They're the state politicians, business owners and company managers of the South, and their world is encompassed within those boundaries. The rest of the world does not exist. All blonde, all white, all Barbie, of course. Brunettes tolerated, POC need not apply.

If they couldn't get into Vandy...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Alabama isn't a good school, but that doesn't really matter if you get a hot wife and want to live in the South. They are a very fun, beautiful school and your frat brothers will get you a good job.

What specifically makes Alabama "not a good school"? I'm sincerely curious.

Their academics.

Care to elaborate, with data this time?

Really? I get it that kids like a free ride. But please. Academics and Alabama dont necessarily go together in the same sentence.

Look at the stats of schools with the most NMSFs and NMFs. Bama is up there.

I haven’t read the replies but I want my second kid to tour it. It didn’t have the major for my current t senior. I don’t care about rankings one bit.

It has solid academics, it gives a traditional college experience that I didn’t have in my stuffy northern university, I’ve actually heard really positive things from real people who’ve attended and, of course, the fantastic merit aid for OOS.

Being an adult is so stressful. Let these kids have fun and stop focusing on rank and prestige.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Alabama isn't a good school, but that doesn't really matter if you get a hot wife and want to live in the South. They are a very fun, beautiful school and your frat brothers will get you a good job.

What specifically makes Alabama "not a good school"? I'm sincerely curious.

Their academics.

Care to elaborate, with data this time?

Really? I get it that kids like a free ride. But please. Academics and Alabama dont necessarily go together in the same sentence.

Anonymous wrote:Seriously why are people looking or choosing OOS Alabama? It’s one of the lowest ranked schools and keeps declining. What am I missing?

Not attending any school in that racist state.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Alabama isn't a good school, but that doesn't really matter if you get a hot wife and want to live in the South. They are a very fun, beautiful school and your frat brothers will get you a good job.

What specifically makes Alabama "not a good school"? I'm sincerely curious.

Their academics.

Care to elaborate, with data this time?

Different poster - you can look it up, come on you're just arguing for the sake of arguing